Vacuum cleaner



Oct. 12, 1965 l. JEPSON 3,210,916

VACUUM CLEANER Filed Jan. 2 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

M45? #7 50 BY 4- I. JEPSQN VACUUM CLEANER Oct. 12, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Jan. 2 1962 VACUUM CLEANER BY WHM Oct. 12, 1965 l. JEPSON 3,

VACUUM CLEANER Filed Jan. 2, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. W41?JZ'RSON ga /EM United States Patent 3,210,916 VACUUM CLEANER Ivar.lepson, Oak Park, 111., assignor to Sunbeam Corporation, Chicago, 111.,a corporation of Illinois Filed Jan. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 163,543 3 Claims.(Cl. 55-471) The present invention relates to suction or vacuum cleanersfor removing dirt from floors, carpets, furniture, or the like, byvirtue of the suction or vacuum produced by a motor-driven fan.Specifically, the present invention is in the nature of an improvementon copending Iepson and Wied application, Serial No. 39,865, filed June30, 1960, now US. Patent No. 3,170,184, and assigned to the sameassignee as the instant application.

In the above-entitled application, there is disclosed a vacuum cleanerof the tank or cannister type which has been extensively sold byapplicants assignee and which has been commercially successful due tomany factors, among which is the very high suction produced by thisvacuum cleaner, the compactness and lightness thereof, which make thedevice very easy to handle, and the simple way in which the dirt pickedup by this cleaner may be disposed of. The vacuum cleaner of theaforementioned copending application comprises a low, compact housing ofthe shape of a shallow pan with a top cover having a circumference ofthe maximum diameter of the pan and gasket means between the cover andthe remainder of the container which also defines a peripheral bumperfor the cleaner. The cover is hingedly secured to the pan and latchmeans are provided for latching the cover to the pan. The vacuum cleanerof the copending application is supported on wheels and the powerfulmotor-driven fan is centrally mounted within the pan-shaped housing, soas to define an annular space for the reception of a disposable dustcollecting bag of large surface area and volume. This cleaner alsoinvolved an improved motor-controlling switch means so that the vacuumcleaner could be ac tuated merely by pushing down on the top of aportion of the housing.

Although the aforementioned vacuum cleaner disclosed in the copendingapplication has been very successful, there is a demand for a somewhatless expensive cleaner having some of the advantages of theabove-mentioned cleaner, and the present invention is primarilyconcerned with such a cleaner which can be sold at a lower price.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide aninexpensive tank or cannister-type cleaner which has many of thedesirable features of more expensive cleaners.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a tank-typevacuum cleaner in which the cover for the tank is bodily removable andis held in closed position by magnetic means.

Still another object of the present invention resides in an improvedgasket means for sealing the cover to the housing of a tank orcannister-type vacuum cleaner.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds and the features ofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularly in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may behad to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner of the presentinvention, showing a portion of the hose and wand and one of severalpossible cleaning attachments;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 with the coverremoved and with a portion of the dust bag cut away more clearly toillustrate features of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention;

Patented Get. 12, 1965 ice FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33of FIG. 2, assuming that FIG. 2 shows the complete structure includingthe cover disposed in sealed relationship with the rest of the vacuumcleaner;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged sectional view of the cover sealing gasketof the vacuum cleaner of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the vacuum cleaner of the presentinvention, with the hose and attachments removed, shown in the positionit assumes when stored and further illustrating how the power cord issupported for storage purposes;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 3 with,however, certain portions shown in section in FIG. 3 not shown insection, and with certain other portions cut away more clearly toillustrate the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, side elevational view with certain portions cutaway, illustrating how the cover is held in latched position and showingin dotted lines the cover completely removed from the remainder of thevacuum cleaner.

Briefly, the present invention is concerned with a tanktype vacuumcleaner similar in many respects to the vacuum cleaner of the aforesaidcopending Jepson and Wied application comprising the same low, compacthousing of the shape of a shallow pan with the top cover having acircumference of the maximum diameter of the pan and gasket meansbetween the cover and the remainder of the container which also definesa peripheral bumper for the cleaner. The cleaner is supported onsuitable wheels and a powerful motor-driven fan is mounted almostcentrally within the pan-shaped housing so as to define an annular spacefor the reception of the disposable dust collecting bag of large surfacearea and volume. The cover of the vacuum cleaner is bodily removablefrom the pan and magnetic means are employed to hold the cover in sealedposition with the remainder of the vacuum cleaner.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a vacuum or suctioncleaner, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, whichcomprises a suitable housing defined by a pan-shaped member 11 and acover 12. The housing is mounted on suitable wheels 13. The housing 11is furthermore provided with means for connecting thereto a suitabletube coupling 15 (FIG. 1) secured to one end of a flexible suction hose16. The hose 16 is adapted to be connected by means not shown to one endof a wand 17, which, in turn, may be connected to various attachments,such as the rug cleaning attachment, generally designated by thereference numeral 18 in FIG. 1 of the drawings. Obviously, otherattachments, such as an upholstery tool, a crevice tool, a dust brush ora turbine brush such as is disclosed and claimed in copending Jepson,Ernestberger and Wolter application, Serial No. 42,080, filed July 11,1960, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, maybe employed.

The base shell or panlike member 11, which forms a major portion of thehousing of the vacuum cleaner 10 comprises a panlike open top member ofgenerally circular configuration having a rolled rim 11a surrounding theopen top. The base shell 11 is very similar to that disclosed in thecopending Jepson and Wied application, Serial No. 39,865, referred toabove, and includes a relatively flat, annular bottom 11b (FIGS. 2 and3) between a vertical cylindrical outside wall 11c and a raised centralannular shelf 11d (FIG. 3) for receiving and supporting a motor-drivenfan unit, generally designated as 20. The construction of themotor-driven fan unit 20 and the support thereof within the housing isnot described herein, but may be identical with that in the aforesaidIepson and Wied application. For strengthening the annular bottom 11b, aplurality of raised or upstanding ribs 11:: and an additional single rib11f integrally formed with the bottom and radially disposed, as bestshown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, are provided. The rib 11 is adjacentwhat might be termed the front of the housing. As best shown in FIGS. 2and 3 of the drawings, the forward portion of this rib 11 may have aslight enlargement, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter.The wheels 13 are secured to the housing 11 in any suitable manner andpreferably identical with that disclosed in the above-mentioned Jepsonand Wied application, wherein they are recessed in the side walls of thehousing so that the rolled rim 110 extends outwardly at least as far asthe wheels.

The portion of the housing 11, which might be termed the front thereof,is provided with an inlet opening into which there is inserted thetubular portion 22a of a molded plastic inlet unit 22. The molded inletunit 22 preferably includes a portion 22b having a curved configurationso as to conform with the outer periphery of the wall 11c of the baseshell 11. Moreover, this outer portion preferably has a pleasingappearance to improve the aesthetic appearance of the vacuum cleaner 10.The tubular portion 22a, as will become apparent from the ensuingdescription, extends into the annular chamber within base shell 11surrounding the motor-driven fan unit 20 and is adapted to makeconnection with the disposable dust bag, described hereinafter. Thetubular portion 22a has a smooth, circular passageway therein to make arelatively close fit with the tube coupling 15 and includes an annularrecess 24, whereby locking connection with suitable means on the tubecoupling 15 can be made, thereby to lock the tube coupling in areleasable manner to the inlet unit 22. means 25 extend through the wall11c of the base shell 11 to secure the inlet unit 22 thereto. To insurethat no air leakage occurs at the opening in the housing wall 110,through which the tubular portion 22a of inlet unit 22 extends, .asuitable gasket 26 (FIG. 3) is interposed between a shoulder defined onthe unit 22 and the exterior surface of the wall 11c of the base shell11 surrounding the opening through which the inlet tube portion 22aextends.

In order that the user of the vacuum cleaner 10 may readily carry thesame around, a suitable D-shaped handle 28 is provided which may have aportion 28a thereof interposed between the inlet unit 22 and the wall110 of the housing or base shell 11 and which may be clamped securely tothe base shell 11 by the same fastening means 25 that hold the inletunit 22 in place.

In order that the vacuum cleaner 10 may be supported on a suitablesupport of shelf 29, in the manner shown in FIG. of the drawings, whichis characterized as the storage position, there is provided a base stand30, preferably formed of a molded plastic, which base stand also definesan air exhaust opening 31 (FIG. 3). As illustrated, the base stand 30includes an arcuate portion 30a generally conforming to the exteriorcircular configuration of the pan wall 110 and is secured to the baseshell 11 by any suitable fastening means 32 (FIG. 3) extending throughthe wall in a well-understood manner. The lower portion of the basestand 30, which defines the opening 31, is provided with a longitudinalextending rib 30b. Furthermore, the upper part of the base stand 30includes a pair of projecting legs 30c and 30d which together with therib 30b provide a sort of tripod support.

As in the above-mentioned Jepson and Wied application, the motor-fanunit 20 is mounted within the vacuum cleaner in a slightly off-centerposition so that the center of gravity is slightly to the rear of theaxis of the wheels 13. Consequently, the vacuum cleaner normally assumesthe position shown in FIG. 3 of the draw- A plurality of fastening 1ings. The base stand 30 is provided with a pair of depending spacedparallel integral ribs 30:: (FIG. 3) for engaging the surface upon whichthe vacuum cleaner 10 is supported due to the fact that the center ofgravity is to the rear of the wheels and effectively provide parallelskids or runners.

As in the above-mentioned Jepson and Wied application, and as best shownin FIG. 3 of the drawings, a diffusor 35 is provided to convert thekinetic energy of motion of a large volume of air to a desired staticpressure. This dilfusor is actually disposed beneath the housing 11 andis supported from the motor-driven fan unit 20. For the purpose ofmuflling the air escaping from the periphery of the diffuser unit 35,there is provided a mufller 36 which is preferably formed from a stripof foam plastic, such as a polyester urethane foam. It will be apparentthat the exhaust air from the fan unit passes through the mufller 36,which is below the bottom of base shell 11. In order to house or enclosethe diffusor unit 35, there is provided a base shell pan 38, which issecured by suitable screws 39 to flanged tubular members 40, which arewelded at spaced points to the bottom of the base shell 11, two of whichare closely shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The bottom of pan 38 ispreferably provided with a peripheral flange 38a for engaging with theunderside of the annular surface 11b of base shell 11. Preferably thepan 33 is provided with suitable openings through which a power cord 41(shown only in FIG. 5 of the drawings) may enter the motor chamber andanother opening for a toggle switch 42 (shown only in FIG. 1 of thedrawings) which is in the power circuit to the motor-driven fan unit 20.The portion of the bottom pan 38 adjacent the base stand 30 is providedwith an opening 43 through which the air exhausted from the motor-drivenfan unit 20 may pass into the base stand 30 and exhaust through theopening 31. If desired, a suitable deflector 44, pivotally mountedwithin the base stand 30, may be provided to normally close the majorportion of the opening 31 and deflect the exhausting air in a desiredmanner. It will be understood that if it is desired to use vacuumcleaner 10 for a blowing operation, the coupling 15 and associated hose16 will be connected to exhaust opening 31.

In use, the user of the vacuum cleaner may pull it around by the hose 16and this force will tend to tip the vacuum cleaner down at the forwardportion thereof so that the ribs 30c are raised from the supportingsurface. In order that there may be provided a resting point for theforward portion of the vacuum cleaner 10, the pan 38 is provided with adepending portion 38b of somewhat conical shape at the apex of which isprovided a plastic skid button 45, preferably formed of nylon or thelike. This plastic skid button 48 defines a suitable skid which will notmar or scratch any surface with which it engages.

It will be apparent that the handle 28 and the projecting toe portions300 and 30d of the base stand 30 provide projections about which thepower cord 41 can readily be wound for storage purposes, as clearlyindicated in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

The vacuum cleaner 10 described above employs a disposable paper bag 46which, when expanded, is an elongated tubular member closed at bothends. At the center of the bag there is provided a rectangular cardboardstiffener member 47 having an opening therein of a size to receive thetubular extension 22a of inlet 22. There is, of course, also an openingin the disposable bag 46 aligned with the opening in the cardboardmember 47. The cardboard member 47 is of such size that the bottom edgethereof is receivable within a recess 48 in front of the upstanding rib11f in the annular bottom of base shell 11. The top of the cardboardmember 47 is held in position by a dust bag spring 49 of somewhatU-shaped configuration which is secured to the inside of the verticallydisposed wall of the base shell 11 by the fastening means 25 whichsecure the inlet 22 and the handle 28 in position. As is best shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, the dust bag spring 49 maintains the rectangularcardboard stiflener member 47 in the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 ofthe drawings. If desired, a suitable gasket may be employed surroundingthe tubular extension 22a, against which gasket the cardboard stiffenermember 47 may be held by the recess 48 and the dust bag spring 49. As isindicated in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the disposable dust bag 46is preferably pleated so that it may be folded into a very small, flatpackage for storage purposes. Obviously, the dust bag 46 will be made ofa paper having the desired porosity to permit air flow therethrough andat the same time retain therein the dust and dirt collected. The dustbag 46 may be essentially identical with that employed in the vacuumcleaner disclosed in the above-mentioned Jepson and Wied application.

As in the above-mentioned Jepson and Wied application, a permanent dustscreen for protecting the motorfan unit 20 is provided should anythinghappen to the disposable bag 46, and to this end there is provided acylindrical filter screen 51, which is suitably secured to brackets orother means forming a part of the motor-fan unit 20. The filter screen51 actually includes a cylinder formed of steel screen wire which hasbeen rayon flocked both on the inside and the outside. The upper part ofthe filter screen 51 is closed by a filter cover 52 which may be stapledor otherwise secured to the filter screen 51. Suitable screws 53 (FIGS.2 and 6) secure the filter screen in position in the vacuum cleaner 10.

The cover 12 has a cross section, as best shown in FIG. 3 of thedrawings, including a flat, generally circular central portion 12a and aperipherally extending flange 1211. In order to prevent the escape ofair at the junction between the cover 12 and the base shell 11, there isprovided a cover sealing gasket 56, best shown in cross section in FIG.4 of the drawings. The sealing gasket 56 is an annular or circularmember which serves both as a sealing gasget and a protective resilientbumper. The cross section of this gasket is best shown in the greatlyenlarged view thereof in FIG. 4 of the drawings and includes the narrowannular opening 57 on the inside thereof for receiving the peripheralflange 12b of the cover 12. Sealing gasket 56 is preferably an extrudedvinyl resin gasket'which is in the form of an endless loop. The gasket56 includes a sort of U-shaped cross section at the bottom defining arecess 58 (FIG. 4) for receiving therein the rolled rim 11a of the baseshell 11, as best shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. A compressible loopportion 56a defines one wall of the recess 58 and can readily becompressed to provide the desired seal between the gasket 56 and thebase shell 11. Furthermore, the gasket 56 has an outside dimension whichextends beyond the exterior of the wheels 13 and, hence, acts as abumper to preclude the wheels or other parts of the vacuum cleaner frommarring furniture or walls that might be engaged by the same.

It will be apparent from FIG. 7 of the drawings that the cover 12 may bebodily lifted from the base shell 11. In accordance with the presentinvention, the cover 12 is secured to the base shell 10 in sealedrelationship therewith by means of a magnetic latch, generallydesignated at 60, and best shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 6 and 7 of the drawings.As illustrated best in FIG. 6 of the drawings, there is provided a sortof dish-shaped magnet retainer 61, which is secured to the top 52 of thefilter 51, as by a fastening means 62. A suitable foam rubber washer 63is interposed between the magnet retainer 61 and the cover 52. Disposedwithin the magnet retainer 61 is a magnet 64 preferably formed of arubber bonded barium ferrite material so as to give a somewhatcompressible magnet. The magnet 64 is magnetized in a verticaldirection, as indicated in FIG. 6 of the drawings. It will be apparentthat the magnet 64 is mounted just underneath the cover 12 and theresilient foam washer 63 normally tends to bias the magnet upwardly sothat when the cover is placed on the vacuum cleaner 10 the depressedcenter 12a of the cover will tend to engage the magnet 64. If desired, asuitable circular plate 65 may be spot welded or otherwise secured tothe inside of the cover 12 which plate is attracted by the magnet 64.Due to the fact that the magnet 64 is deformable by virtue of the rubberbonded material, contact with the plate 65 over the entire area isassured. In a device built in accordance with the present invention, themagnet retainer assembly 60 was designed to support a force of sixteenpounds. When the cover 12 is placed on the vacuum cleaner, the plate 65secured to the inside center thereof engages the magnet 64 whicheffectively latches the cover in position with a sufficient force toprovide the desired seal at the peripheral gasket.

To assure proper seating of the gasket 56 into sealing engagement withrim 11a of the pan-like member 11, the magnet 64 may be spaced below thecover 12 so that a slight amount of fiexure of the cover 12 is necessaryto achieve engagement between the plate 65 and the magnet 64. Theresilience of the depressed center 12a of the cover urges the gasket 56into engagement with rim 11a. The amount of spacing of the cover 12 frommagnet need only be on the order of to obtain a satisfactory biasingforce.

It should be understood that the reduced pressure created by themotor-driven fan unit 20 within the base shell 11 increases theretaining force exerted upon the cover 12 when the motor is operating.The primary function of the magnetic latch 60 is to seat the gasket 56against the rim 11a initially and retain the cover 12 in place when themotor-driven fan unit 20 is not operating.

In view of the detailed description included above, the operation of thesuction cleaner of the present invention will be readily understood andno further discussion is included herewith. It will furthermore beappreciated that there has been provided a very inexpensive vacuumcleaner with a simple and foolproof means for securing the cover 12 tothe base shell 11 in a sealed manner and yet in a readily removablemanner.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of thepresent invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious changes and modifications may be made without departing from theinvention in its broader aspects and it is, therefore, contemplated inthe appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. A suction cleaner comprising an open top panlike circular housing,means defining inlet and exhaust openings in said housing, a circularcover for the open top of said housing, a sealing gasket interposedbetween said cover and said housing, said cover being bodily removablefrom said housing and having a central flexible portion, said centralflexible portion including a magnetically susceptible portion, means forsupporting said housing, a suction creating motor driven fan membersupported by said housing, a part of said member being disposed withinsaid housing and centrally thereof and extending upwardly toward theopen top of said housing thereby to define an annular chamber withinsaid housing surrounding said part, a filter member surrounding saidpart of said motor driven fan member, an elongated porous dustcollecting means connected to said inlet opening and substantiallyfilling said annular chamber, magnetic means secured to one of saidmembers and disposed adjacent said magnetically susceptible portion butspaced therefrom when said cover is placed in position to close saidaccess opening without compressing said gasket, said magnetic meansbeing rendered elfective to maintain said gasket in compressed conditionand effectively to latch said cover in sealed relationship with saidhousing upon applying an external force to said flexible portion of saidcover to move the same sufficiently to cause said magneticallysusceptible portion to engage said magnetic means.

2. A vacuum cleaner comprising an open top circular panlike housinghaving inlet and exhaust openings defined in said housing, a circulardisklike cover member for the open top of said housing, said covermember having a flexible central portion, a compressible sealing gasketinterposed between said cover member and the portion of said housingdefining said open top, a suction creating member supported by saidhousing and at least partially disposed within and centrally of saidhousing to define an annular chamber within said housing surroundingsaid suction creating member, magnetic means disposed within saidhousing and secured to one of said members adjacent the central portionof said cover member, a magnetically susceptible element secured to theother of said members adjacent said magnetic means but spaced therefromwhen said cover member closes said opening but said gasket isuncompressed, said magnetic means and said magnetically susceptibleelement being engageable only upon flexing said central portion of saidcover member sufficiently to apply a predetermined biasing force to saidgasket to insure a seal between said cover member and References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,734,594 2/56 Meeker 55-473 X2,761,717 9/56 Mahlke 292251.5 2,844,402 7/58 Hughes 292-25 l .52,959,832 11/60 Baermann 252-62.5 3,039,803 6/62 Stoll et al. 292-251.53,050,921 8/62 Seyfried 15327 X FOREIGN PATENTS 631,523 11/49 GreatBritain.

HARRY B. THORNTON, Primary Examiner.

1. A SUCTION CLEANER COMPRISING AN OPEN TOP PANLIKE CIRCULAR HOUSING,MEANS DEFINING INLET AND EXHAUST OPENINGS IN SAID HOUSING, A CIRCULARCOVER FOR THE OPEN TOP OF SAID HOUSING, A SEALING GASKET INTERPOSEDBETWEEN SAID COVER AND SAID HOUSING, SAID COVER BEING BODILY REMOVABLEFROM SAID HOUSING AND HAVING A CENTRAL FLEXIBLE PORTION, SAID CENTRALFLEXIBLE PORTION INCLUDING A MAGNETICALLY SUSCEPTIBLE PORTION, MEANS FORSUPPORTING SAID HOUSING, A SUCTION CREATING MOTOR DRIVEN FAN MEMBERSUPPORTED BY SAID HOUSING, A PART OF SAID MEMBER BEING DISPOSED WITHINSAID HOUSING AND CENTRALLY THEREOF AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY TOWARD THEOPEN TOP OF SAID HOUSING THEREBY TO DEFINE AN ANNULAR CHAMBER WITHINSAID HOUSING SURROUNDING SAID PART, A FILTER MEMBER SURROUNDING SAIDPART OF SAID MOTOR DRIVEN FAN MEMBER, AN ELONGATED POROUS DUST